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As state battles child sex trafficking, more resources needed

Published: Thursday, October 3, 2013 at 11:55 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, October 3, 2013 at 11:55 p.m.

TAMPA - Florida is making strides in confronting the problem of child sex trafficking, but resources are still scarce and for every girl saved there are dozens more who continue to be beaten, drugged and sold for sex.

That good news/bad news message was delivered to more than 700 advocates, caseworkers, law enforcement officers and other interested parties at the second annual Human Trafficking Summit, held Thursday at the University of South Florida in Tampa.

Top state officials who kicked off the event included Gov. Rick Scott, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Gerald Bailey and Esther Jacobo, the interim secretary of the Department of Children and Families.

They touted several new laws and initiatives aimed at addressing the problem of child sex trafficking. These included legislation implemented this year to treat prostituted children as victims instead of criminals, and calls for the creation of safe houses across the state.

Bondi unveiled one initiative last week to raise awareness of the problem. The message “From Instant Message to Instant Nightmare,” will be displayed on billboards, bus shelters and at malls to help parents protect their children from online traffickers. Children are also encouraged to sign a pledge to use the Internet appropriately, and tape the pledge to their computers as a daily reminder.

Bondi said the estimated 750 summit attendees — double the number at last year's inaugural event — underscores a growing awareness of the problem.

A prosecutor for 18 years before being elected attorney general, Bondi said she has had a steep learning curve on the trafficking issue.

“I didn't know how bad it was when I was a prosecutor,” she said. “We're No. 3 in the country in terms of reported cases, and we have to make that stop.”

But advocates say that while the Safe Harbor Act is well-intended, it left out one critical component: funding. The 200 or so beds needed initially to help rescued victims are to be paid for in large part by an increase in fines for johns who prey on children.

So far this year, only about $10,000 in fines has been collected, while the estimated cost of running state safe houses is estimated to run in the millions.

While the summit addressed all facets of human trafficking, including so-called domestic slavery and adult sex trafficking, much of the discussion focused on what is formally called Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children.

That is for good reason.

Indeed, the facts surrounding child sex trafficking are both startling and gut-wrenching:

• Experts say more than 100,000 children nationwide are forced into prostitution each year, and up to 300,000 annually are at risk of being trafficked for sex.

• The average age of a child being forced into prostitution is 13, according to one widely recognized study. Most of those children are sexually abused, often by a family member, before being prostituted.

• Florida ranks third in the country in the number of prostituted children, experts say, and Southwest Florida — including Tampa, Bradenton and Sarasota — is considered a hotbed of abuse.

In Bradenton last year, Eric Bell was convicted of running a prostitution ring with underage girls who'd been lured from bus stops.

Bell and an accomplice offered the girls a place to live, then took sexually explicit photos to solicit clients on the Internet.

The four victims rescued by authorities were between 15 and 17 years old.

Bell pleaded guilty to four charges of sex trafficking of minors and was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

But for every Eric Bell sent to prison, there are several more ready to take his place, said FBI Special Agent Greg Christopher, who focuses on child sex trafficking cases.

“We're locking up pimps left and right,” he said, “but the problem keeps growing.”

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